One problem associated with the construction of sanitary napkins is ensuring that the napkins offer protection against leakage. The main reason why sanitary napkins leak is not because their absorption capacity is insufficient, but because the liquid or fluid discharged from the wearer is either deposited onto one side of the absorbent body or runs along its surface without being absorbed, either because the napkin has been incorrectly positioned when donned or because the napkin has been deformed by the forces exerted on the napkin when in use, among other things. Swedish Patent Application No. 9402448-6 discloses a sanitary napkin with which this problem is solved by placing beneath the absorbent body a compressible and resilient layer of material which functions to press the absorbent body resiliently against the wearer's body when the napkin is worn. A sanitary napkin of this kind has been found to be extremely reliable against leakage. However, the resilient layer must be relatively thick in order to ensure that it will function effectively, and consequently this solution is not suited for application with thin sanitary napkins, i.e. sanitary napkins having a total thickness of less than 5 mm.